U.S. patent application number 11/932147 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-06 for wireless, internet-based system for measuring vital signs from a plurality of patients in a hospital or medical clinic.
This patent application is currently assigned to TRIAGE WIRELESS, INC.. Invention is credited to Matthew John Banet, Henk II Visser.
Application Number | 20080058614 11/932147 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39152736 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080058614 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Banet; Matthew John ; et
al. |
March 6, 2008 |
WIRELESS, INTERNET-BASED SYSTEM FOR MEASURING VITAL SIGNS FROM A
PLURALITY OF PATIENTS IN A HOSPITAL OR MEDICAL CLINIC
Abstract
The invention provides system for measuring vital signs from
multiple patients, typically in an in-hospital setting. The system
features a body-worn vital sign monitor that includes: i) a sensor
configured as a patch that measures electrical and optical signals
from a patient; ii) a controller featuring a microprocessor that
receives and processes the electrical and optical signals to
determine the patient's vital sign information, including blood
pressure; and iii) a first short-range wireless component that
wirelessly transmits a packet comprising the vital sign information
to an external receiver. A portable, wireless computer (e.g., a
PDA, cellular telephone, or a laptop computer) communicates with
the body-worn module. The wireless computer includes: i) a second
short-range wireless component that receives the vital sign
information and displays it; and ii) a long-range wireless
transmitter that transmits the vital sign information over a
wireless network. The system also includes an Internet-based system
that receives the vital sign information from the wireless network,
and avails this to medical professionals through an in-hospital
information system.
Inventors: |
Banet; Matthew John; (Del
Mar, CA) ; Visser; Henk II; (San Diego, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Triage Wireless, Inc.;Matthew John Banet
6540 LUSK BLVD., C200
SAN DIEGO
CA
92121
US
|
Assignee: |
TRIAGE WIRELESS, INC.
6540 Lusk Blvd. Suite C200
San Diego
CA
92121
|
Family ID: |
39152736 |
Appl. No.: |
11/932147 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11162719 |
Sep 20, 2005 |
|
|
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11932147 |
Oct 31, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
600/300 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 5/1455 20130101;
A61B 5/02055 20130101; A61B 5/021 20130101; A61B 5/002 20130101;
A61B 5/0022 20130101; A61B 5/02125 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
600/300 |
International
Class: |
A61B 5/00 20060101
A61B005/00 |
Claims
1. A system for measuring vital signs information from a plurality
of patients comprising: a plurality of body-worn vital sign
monitors, each worn by a patient and comprising: 1) a patch sensor
system attached to a patient comprising at least two electrodes
that each measures an electrical signal and an optical sensor that
measures an optical signal from the patient; 2) a controller
comprising a microprocessor that receives the electrical and
optical signals from the patch sensor system and processes them to
determine the patient's vital sign information, including blood
pressure; and 3) a short-range wireless transceiver that wirelessly
transmits to an external transceiver the vital signs information
and an identifying code indicating a specific body-worn vital sign
monitor; a portable, wireless monitor that receives vitals signs
information and identifying code from each of the plurality of
body-worn vital sign monitors, comprising: 1) a short-range
wireless radio configured to receive the vital signs information
and identifying code from each of the plurality of body-worn vital
signs monitor: 2) a processor that processes the identifying code
received from each unique body-worn vital signs monitor to identify
it; and 3) a graphical user interface that displays: i) information
identifying at least one body-worn vital signs monitor that is in
wireless communication with the external receiver; and ii) vital
signs information measured by the at least one body-worn vital
signs monitor that is in wireless communication with the portable,
wireless monitor.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the portable, wireless monitor
comprises a software program that processes the identifying code to
identify the body-worn vitals sign monitor from which it
originated.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the software program comprises a
database that associates a patient's name with the identifying
code.
4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a computer system
comprising a software component that sends contents of the database
to the portable, wireless monitor.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the portable, wireless monitor
further comprises a software program that detects a body-worn vital
signs monitor, and a user interface that displays a patient
associated with the body-worn vital signs monitor.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the computer system further
comprises an interface to a hospital information system.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the interface is a web services
interface.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the portable, wireless monitor is
a personal digital assistant or a cellular telephone.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the patch sensor system comprises
at least three adhesive electrodes.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor comprises a
light-emitting diode and an optical detector.
11. A system for monitoring blood pressure values from a plurality
of patients, comprising: a plurality of body-worn sensors, each
configured to be worn on a unique patient and comprising: at least
two electrodes, each comprising an electrode component configured
to measure an electrical signal from the patient, an optical sensor
configured to measure an optical signal from the patient; a
processor, configured to receive an electrical waveform generated
from the electrical signals from the electrodes, and an optical
waveform generated from the optical signal from the optical sensor,
and further configured to process the optical and electrical
waveforms with an algorithm to determine a blood pressure value
from the unique patient wearing the body-worn sensor; and a
short-range wireless radio configured to transmit the blood
pressure value to an external receiver; the external receiver
comprising: a short-range wireless radio configured to receive from
each of the plurality of body-worn sensors: 1) an identifying code
indicating each of the plurality of body-worn sensors; and 2) a
blood pressure value corresponding to each unique patient wearing a
body-worn sensor; a processor that processes the identifying code
received from each unique body-worn sensor to identify the sensor;
and a graphical user interface that displays: 1) information
identifying at least one body-worn sensor that is in wireless
communication with the external receiver; and 2) a blood pressure
values measured by the at least one body-worn sensor that is in
wireless communication with the external receiver.
Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/162,719, filed Sep. 20, 2005.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The present invention relates to a device, method, and
system for measuring vital signs, particularly blood pressure.
[0005] 2. Description of Related Art
[0006] Personal digital assistants (`PDAs`) are currently used in
hospitals and medical clinics to, e.g., record notes, collect
patient information, and generate prescriptions. Some PDAs, such as
Palm's Treo 650 and Audiovox's PPC 6600/6601, include long-range
wireless transmitters (e.g., a CDMA modem) that allow them to
wirelessly transmit and receive information and ultimately and
communicate wirelessly with in-hospital information systems. For
example, the above-mentioned PDAs can run software programs that
wirelessly connect through the Internet to the hospital's
information system to access medical and patient records. Examples
of these software programs, sometimes called `rounding tools`, have
been developed by companies such as MercuryMD (www.mercurymd.com/),
Patient Keeper (www.patientkeeper.com/), VISICU
(www.visicu.com/index_flash.asp), and Global Care Quest
(www.gcq.ucla.edu/index pc.html).
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In one aspect, the invention provides system for measuring
vital signs from multiple patients, typically in an in-hospital
setting. The system features a small-scale, body-worn vital sign
monitor that includes: i) a sensor configured as a patch that
measures electrical and optical signals from a patient; ii) a
controller featuring a microprocessor that receives and processes
the electrical and optical signals to determine the patient's vital
sign information, including blood pressure; and iii) a first
short-range wireless component that wirelessly transmits a packet
containing the vital sign information to an external receiver. A
portable, wireless computer (e.g., a PDA, cellular telephone, or a
laptop computer) communicates with the body-worn module. This
component includes: i) a second short-range wireless component that
receives the vital sign information and displays it; and ii) a
long-range wireless transmitter that transmits the vital sign
information over a wireless network. The system also includes an
Internet-based system that receives the vital sign information from
the wireless network, and avails this to medical professionals
through an in-hospital information system.
[0008] In embodiments, the portable, wireless computer features a
software program that processes the packet to determine the
body-worn vital sign monitor from which it originated, and a
patient associated with the monitor. Typically the packet includes
an identifying code, such as a serial number, and the software
program includes a database that associates a patient's name with
an identifying code. In this case, the Internet-based system can
periodically wirelessly transmit contents of the database to the
portable, wireless computer.
[0009] In a preferred embodiment the patch includes: i) a first
adhesive component featuring a first electrode that measures a
first electrical signal from the patient; ii) a second adhesive
component featuring a second electrode that measures a second
electrical signal from the patient; and iii) a third adhesive
component, in electrical communication with the first and second
adhesive components, featuring an optical system that measures the
optical signal from the patient.
[0010] In embodiments, the optical system features a light-emitting
diode and an optical detector disposed on a same side of a
substrate (e.g., a circuit board) to operate in a `reflection mode`
geometry. Alternatively, these components can be disposed opposite
each other to operate in a `transmission mode` geometry.
[0011] The controller typically operates an algorithm (e.g.,
compiled computer code) configured to process the first and second
electrical signals to generate an electrical waveform, and the
optical signals to generate an optical waveform. The algorithm then
processes the electrical and optical waveforms to calculate a blood
pressure value. For example, the controller can determine blood
pressure by processing: 1) a first time-dependent feature of the
optical waveform; 2) a second time-dependent feature of the
electrical waveform; and 3) a calibration parameter determined by
another means (e.g., a conventional blood pressure cuff or
tonometer).
[0012] In embodiments, the third adhesive component further
includes a connector configured to connect to a detachable cable
that connects to the first and second electrodes. An additional
cable can connect the adhesive components to the controller.
Alternatively, the third adhesive component can include a first
wireless component, and the controller further includes a second
wireless component configured to communicate with first wireless
component. In yet another embodiment the controller is attached
directly to the third adhesive component.
[0013] The optical system typically includes a first light-emitting
diode that emits radiation (e.g. red radiation) that generates a
first optical signal, and a second light-emitting diode that emits
radiation (e.g., infrared radiation) that generates a second
optical signal. In this case the controller additionally includes
an algorithm that processes the first and second optical signals to
generate pulse oximetry and heart rate values. In other embodiments
the controller features an algorithm that processes the first and
second electrical signals to generate an ECG waveform.
[0014] In other embodiments the third adhesive component includes a
third electrode that measures a third electrical signal from the
patient. In this case, the controller includes an algorithm that
processes the first, second, and third electrical signals to
generate an ECG waveform along with the other vital signs described
above.
[0015] The invention has many advantages. In particular, it
provides a single, low-profile, disposable system that measures a
variety of vital signs, including blood pressure, without using a
cuff. This and other information can be easily transferred from a
patient to a central monitor through a wired or wireless
connection. For example, with the system a medical professional can
continuously monitor a patient's blood pressure and other vital
signs during their day-to-day activities, or while the patient is
admitted to a hospital. Monitoring patients in this manner
minimizes erroneous measurements due to `white coat syndrome` and
increases the accuracy of a blood-pressure measurement. In
particular, as described below, one aspect of the invention
provides a system that continuously monitors a patient's blood
pressure using a cuffless blood pressure monitor and an
off-the-shelf mobile communication device. Information describing
the blood pressure can be viewed using an Internet-based website,
using a personal computer, or simply by viewing a display on the
mobile device. Blood-pressure information measured continuously
throughout the day provides a relatively comprehensive data set
compared to that measured during isolated medical appointments.
This approach identifies trends in a patient's blood pressure, such
as a gradual increase or decrease, which may indicate a medical
condition that requires treatment. The system also minimizes
effects of `white coat syndrome` since the monitor automatically
and continuously makes measurements away from a medical office with
basically no discomfort to the patient. Real-time, automatic blood
pressure measurements, followed by wireless transmission of the
data, are only practical with a non-invasive, cuffless system like
that of the present invention. Measurements can be made completely
unobtrusive to the patient.
[0016] The system can also characterize the patient's heart rate
and blood oxygen saturation using the same optical system for the
blood-pressure measurement. This information can be wirelessly
transmitted along with blood-pressure information and used to
further diagnose the patient's cardiac condition.
[0017] The monitor is easily worn by the patient during periods of
exercise or day-to-day activities, and makes a non-invasive
blood-pressure measurement in a matter of seconds. The resulting
information has many uses for patients, medical professional,
insurance companies, pharmaceutical agencies conducting clinical
trials, and organizations for home-health monitoring.
[0018] Having briefly described the present invention, the above
and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be
recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following
detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1A shows a semi-schematic view of a vital
sign-monitoring system according to the invention featuring a
disposable patch sensor connected to a body-worn monitor that, in
turn, communicates with an external wireless PDA;
[0020] FIG. 1B shows a top view of the disposable patch sensor of
FIG. 1A;
[0021] FIG. 2 shows a semi-schematic view of the wireless PDA of
FIG. 1A connected to multiple body-worn monitors in, e.g., a
hospital setting;
[0022] FIG. 3 shows a graph of time-dependent optical and
electrical waveforms collected by the body-worn module of FIG.
1A;
[0023] FIG. 4 shows a screen shot of a user interface deployed on
the wireless PDA of FIG. 1A; and
[0024] FIG. 5 shows an Internet-based system used to route
information from the PDA to an in-hospital information system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] FIGS. 1A and 1B show, respectively, a body-worn vital sign
monitor 22 that connects through a cable 27 to a disposable patch
sensor 28 attached to a patient 30. The patch sensor 28 measures
optical and electrical waveforms, described in detail below with
reference to FIG. 3, that the body-worn monitor 22 receives and
processes to calculate the patient's blood pressure and other vital
signs. Once this information is calculated, the body-worn monitor
22 sends it to an external, wireless PDA 20 through a wireless link
(e.g., a Bluetooth connection). The PDA 20 can process and display
the information and then transmit it wirelessly over a nation-wide
network (e.g. a CDMA network) to an Internet-accessible website or
hospital information system, as described in more detail below with
reference to FIG. 5.
[0026] Preferably the patch sensor 28 attaches to a region near the
patient's neck, chest, ear, or to any other location that is near
the patient's head and proximal to an underling artery. Typically
the patient's head undergoes relatively little motion compared to
other parts of the body (e.g., the hands), and thus attaching the
patch sensor 28 to these regions reduces the negative affects of
motion-related artifacts.
[0027] FIG. 1B shows the disposable patch sensor 28 that features
primary 11 and reference 12 electrodes and an optical system 10
operating in concert as described below to measure vital signs from
a patient 30. The electrodes 11, 12 and optical system 10 each
attach to the patient's skin using a separate adhesive pad 16, 17,
18, and connect to each other using a Y-shaped cable 14. During
operation, the primary 11 and reference 12 electrodes detect
electrical impulses, similar to those used to generate a
conventional ECG, from the patient's skin. Each heartbeat generates
a unique set of electrical impulses. Concurrently, the optical
system 10 measures an optical waveform by detecting a
time-dependent volumetric change in an underlying artery caused by
blood flow following each heartbeat. The optical waveform is
similar to an optical plethysmograph measured by a pulse oximeter.
During operation, the body-worn monitor 22 receives the electrical
impulses and converts these to an electrical waveform (e.g., an
ECG), and is described in more detail in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 10/906,314, filed Feb. 14, 2005 and entitled PATCH SENSOR
FOR MEASURING BLOOD PRESSURE WITHOUT A CUFF, the contents of which
are incorporated herein by reference. The body-worn monitor
includes a microprocessor that runs an algorithm to process the
electrical and optical waveforms to measure vital signs, such as
pulse oximetry, heart rate, ECG, and blood pressure.
[0028] For the purposes of measuring blood pressure as described
herein, the primary 11 and reference 12 electrodes only need to
collect electrical signals required to generate an electrical
waveform found in a 2-lead ECG. These electrodes can therefore be
placed on the patient at positions that differ from those used
during a standard multi-lead ECG (e.g., positions used in
`Einthoven's Triangle`).
[0029] FIG. 2 shows how a single wireless PDA 20 operates in a
hospital environment to collect vital sign information from a set
of body-worn monitors 22a-g, each associated with a separate patch
sensor 28a-g attached to a unique patient 30a-g. For example, each
patient 30a-g wearing a body-worn monitor 22a-g and patch sensor
28a-g can be located within a unique hospital room. A medical
professional making `rounds` sequentially enters each room and
downloads the patient's most recent vital sign information from
each body-worn monitor 22a-g through a short-range wireless
connection (using, e.g., a pair of matched Bluetooth.TM.
transceivers). In this case, each body-worn monitor 22a-g sends
information in a packet that includes a header describing a serial
number of the monitor, and a payload describing the vital sign
information. The PDA 20, in turn, includes a database that is
typically downloaded wirelessly from a central server. The database
associates the serial number and the vital sign information with
the patient's name. Once the vital sign information is collected
from each patient 22a-g, the PDA 20 formats it accordingly and
sends it using an antenna 26 through a nation-wide wireless network
31 to a computer system on the Internet 32. The computer system
then sends the information through the Internet 32 to an
in-hospital network 34 (using, e.g., a frame-relay circuit or VPN).
From there, the information is associated with a patient's medical
records, and can be accessed at a later time by a medical
professional.
[0030] FIG. 3 shows a graph 40 that plots both the optical 38 and
electrical 39 waveforms generated by, respectively, the electrodes
and optical system in the disposable patch sensor. Both waveforms
include multiple `pulses` each corresponding to an individual
heartbeat. Following the heartbeat, electrical impulses travel
essentially instantaneously from the patient's heart to the
electrodes, which detect it to generate a pulse in the electrical
waveform 39. At a later time, a pressure wave induced by the same
heartbeat propagates through the patient's arteries, which are
elastic and increase in volume due to the pressure wave. Ultimately
the pressure wave arrives at a portion of the artery underneath the
optical system, where light-emitting diodes and a photodetector
detect it by measuring a time-dependent change in optical
absorption to generate the optical waveform 38. The propagation
time of the electrical impulse is independent of blood pressure,
whereas the propagation time of the pressure wave depends strongly
on pressure, as well as mechanical properties of the patient's
arteries (e.g., arterial size, stiffness). The microprocessor runs
an algorithm that analyzes the time difference .DELTA.T between the
arrivals of these signals, i.e. the relative occurrence of pulses
in the optical 38 and electrical 39 waveforms as measured by the
patch sensor. Calibrating the measurement (e.g., with a
conventional blood pressure cuff or tonometer) accounts for
patient-to-patient variations in arterial properties, and
correlates .DELTA.T and other properties of the waveforms to both
systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This results in a
calibration table. During an actual measurement, the calibration
source is removed, and the microprocessor analyzes .DELTA.T along
with other properties of the optical and electrical waveforms and
the calibration table to calculate the patient's real-time blood
pressure.
[0031] In one embodiment, for example, the microprocessor `fits`
the optical waveform using a mathematical function that accurately
describes the waveform's features, and an algorithm (e.g., the
Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm) that iteratively varies the
parameters of the fitting function until it best matches the
time-dependent features of the waveform. In this way, blood
pressure-dependent properties of the waveform, such as its width,
rise time, fall time, and area, can be calibrated as described
above. After the calibration source is removed, the patch sensor
measures these properties along with .DELTA.T to determine the
patient's blood pressure. Alternatively, the waveforms can be
filtered using mathematical techniques, e.g. to remove high or low
frequency components that do not correlate to blood pressure. In
this case the waveforms can be filtered using well-known Fourier
Transform techniques or simple smoothing algorithms to remove
unwanted frequency components, and then processed as described
above.
[0032] Methods for processing the optical and electrical waveform
to determine blood pressure are described in the following
co-pending patent applications, the entire contents of which are
incorporated by reference: 1) CUFFLESS BLOOD-PRESSURE MONITOR AND
ACCOMPANYING WIRELESS, INTERNET-BASED SYSTEM (U.S. Ser. No.
10/709,015; filed Apr. 7, 2004); 2) CUFFLESS SYSTEM FOR MEASURING
BLOOD PRESSURE (U.S. Ser. No. 10/709,014; filed Apr. 7, 2004); 3)
CUFFLESS BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR AND ACCOMPANYING WEB SERVICES
INTERFACE (U.S. Ser. No. 10/810,237; filed Mar. 26, 2004); 4)
VITAL-SIGN MONITOR FOR ATHLETIC APPLICATIONS (U.S. Ser. No.; filed
Sep. 13, 2004); 5) CUFFLESS BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR AND ACCOMPANYING
WIRELESS MOBILE DEVICE (U.S. Ser. No. 10/967,511; filed Oct. 18,
2004); and 6) BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING DEVICE FE.DELTA.TURING A
CALIBRATION-BASED ANALYSIS (U.S. Ser. No. 10/967,610; filed Oct.
18, 2004); 7) PERSONAL COMPUTER-BASED VITAL SIGN MONITOR (U.S. Ser.
No. 10/906,342; filed Feb. 15, 2005); and 8) PATCH SENSOR FOR
MEASURING BLOOD PRESSURE WITHOUT A CUFF (U.S. Ser. No. 10/906,315;
filed Feb. 14, 2005).
[0033] FIG. 4 shows a screen shot of a graphical user interface
(GUI) 41, rendered on the wireless PDA, which displays patient
information 45 and vital sign information 42. For example, a
medical professional (e.g. a nurse) can turn on the PDA before
making rounds at a hospital; this process loads the GUI 41. When
the nurse enters a hospital room, the PDA detects a short-range
wireless signal indicating the presence of a patient wearing a
body-worn vital sign monitor, described above. The PDA displays a
serial number associated with the monitor, along with the patient's
name, in the patient information 45. The nurse then depresses a
`Get Vital Signs` button 44 on the GUI 41. This initiates a
wireless serial link with the body-worn monitor, and then downloads
a set of vital signs collected recently by the patch sensor. As
shown in the figure, this information includes:
[0034] 1) Systolic blood pressure
[0035] 2) Diastolic blood pressure
[0036] 3) Pulse blood pressure
[0037] 4) Heart rate
[0038] 5) Pulse oximetry
[0039] 6) Temperature
[0040] 7) Weight
[0041] 8) ECG `rhythm strip` (e.g., the electrical waveform shown
in FIG. 3)
[0042] Note that for the above-mentioned information, temperature
is measured with a conventional temperature sensor embedded in the
patch sensor. Weight is measured at an earlier time when the
patient steps on a scale that includes a short-range wireless
transceiver that connects to a matched transceiver within the
body-worn unit. Such a system, for example, is described in the
pending patent application entitled `SMALL-SCALE, VITAL-SIGNS
MONITORING DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD`, U.S. Ser. No. 10/907,440,
filed Mar. 31, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
[0043] In addition to collecting the patient's most recent vital
sign information 42, the nurse can depress a `History` button 43 to
collect historical values of a particular vital sign. Once
collected, these values can be plotted in a variety of graphical
formats, such as a time-dependent or histogram format. Similarly,
the GUI 41 includes a `Rhythm Strip` button 47 that, once
depressed, renders and analyzes a graphical ECG rhythm strip,
similar to the electrical waveform shown in FIG. 3.
[0044] Once the nurse collects the patient's most recent or
historical vital sign information, a `Transmit Vital Signs` button
46 is depressed to transmit this information over a wireless
network, such as a nation-wide (e.g., a CDMA network) or
in-hospital wireless network (e.g.. an 802.11-based network), to
the hospital's information system. This information can then be
accessed at a later time by any relevant medical personnel
associated with the patient or hospital.
[0045] The GUI 41 also includes other tools for managing
information, such as a link 49 to a web page on the Internet, a
link 50 to a email program, a button 48 that connects the nurse to
a home page of the GUI that includes links to other data-processing
functions, and an icon 51 that describes the strength of the
wireless signal.
[0046] FIG. 5 shows a preferred embodiment of an Internet-based
system 52 that operates in concert with the body-worn unit 22 to
send information from a patient 30 to an in-hospital information
system 71. Using a wireless PDA 20 operating a GUI such as that
shown in FIG. 4, a medical professional 31 collects vital sign
information from the patient's body-worn unit 22 through a
short-range wireless connection. The wireless PDA 20 then sends the
information through a wireless network 54 to a web site 66 hosted
on an Internet-based host computer system 57. The wireless network
can be a nationwide wireless network or a local wireless network. A
secondary computer system 69 accesses the website 66 through the
Internet 67. A wireless gateway 55 connects to the wireless network
54 and receives data from one or more wireless PDAs 20, as
discussed below. The host computer system 57 includes a database 63
and a data-processing component 68 for, respectively, storing and
analyzing the data. The host computer system 57, for example, may
include multiple computers, software pieces, and other
signal-processing and switching equipment, such as routers and
digital signal processors. The wireless gateway 55 preferably
connects to the wireless network 54 using a TCP/IP-based
connection, or with a dedicated, digital leased line (e.g., a
frame-relay circuit or a digital line running an X.25 or other
protocols). The host computer system 57 also hosts the web site 66
using conventional computer hardware (e.g. computer servers for
both a database and the web site) and software (e.g., web server
and database software). To connect to the in-hospital information
system 71, the host computer system 57 typically includes a web
services interface 70 that sends information using an XML-based web
services link to a computer associated with the in-hospital
information system 71. Alternatively, the wireless network 54 may
be an in-hospital wireless network (e.g., a network operating
Bluetooth.TM., 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.15.4, or `mesh
network` wireless protocols) that connects directly to the
in-hospital information system 71. In this embodiment, a nurse
working at a central nursing station can quickly view the vital
signs of the patient using a simple computer interface.
[0047] To view information remotely, the patient or medical
professional can access a user interface hosted on the web site 66
through the Internet 67 from a secondary computer system 69, such
as a Internet-accessible home computer. The system 53 may also
include a call center, typically staffed with medical professionals
such as doctors, nurses, or nurse practioners, whom access a
care-provider interface hosted on the same website 66.
[0048] During typical operation, the patient continuously wears the
body-worn monitor 22 and its associated patch sensor system during
their hospital stay, which is typically a period of time ranging
from a few hours to weeks.
[0049] The body-worn can optionally be used to determine the
patient's location using embedded position-location technology
(e.g., GPS, network-assisted GPS, or Bluetooth.TM., 802.11-based
location system). In situations requiring immediate medical
assistance, the patient's location, along with relevant vital sign
information, can be relayed to emergency response personnel.
[0050] In a related embodiment, the wireless PDA may use a `store
and forward` protocol wherein one of these devices stores
information when the wireless device is out of wireless coverage,
and then sends this information to the wireless device when it
roams back into wireless coverage.
[0051] In still other embodiments, electronics associated with the
body-worn monitor (e.g., the microprocessor) are disposed directly
on the patch sensor, e.g. on a circuit board that supports the
optical system. In this configuration, the circuit board may also
include a display to render the patient's vital signs. In another
embodiment, a short-range radio (e.g., a Bluetooth.TM., 802.15.4,
or part-15 radio) is mounted on the circuit board and wirelessly
sends information (e.g., optical and electrical waveforms;
calculated vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, pulse
oximetry, ECG, and associated waveforms) to an external controller
with a matched radio, or to a conventional cellular telephone or
wireless personal digital assistant. Or the short-range radio may
send information to a central computer system (e.g., a computer at
a nursing station), or though an internal wireless network (e.g. an
802.11-based in-hospital network). In yet another embodiment, the
circuit board can support a computer memory that stores multiple
readings, each corresponding to a unique time/date stamp. In this
case, the readings can be accessed using a wireless or wired system
described above.
[0052] In still other embodiments, the patch sensor can include
sensors in addition to those described above, e.g. sensors that
measure motion (e.g. an accelerometer) or other properties.
[0053] Still other embodiments are within the scope of the
following claims.
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